Kenny Chesney Drops Pink Collaboration, ‘Setting the World on Fire’, as New Single [LISTEN]

Kenny Chesney has released "Setting the World on Fire," his duet with pop star Pink, as the second single from his upcoming new album, Cosmic Hallelujah.

Partially recorded at Rick Rubin’s Malibu studio, "Setting the World on Fire" is a mid-tempo tune that explores the emotions -- the good and the anxious -- of falling in love. The song's lyrics -- "We were up all night, and we were feelin’ so good / Yeah, we got a little higher than we probably should / We were in a hotel singin’ in the hallway lights / We were strikin’ the matches right down to the ashes / Setting the world on fire" -- are, according to Chesney, "a perfect way of saying it, but when you feel that melody rise, the arrangement picking up momentum -- it’s bigger than you are, and all you want to do is throw yourself against the night.

"Then when Pink comes in," he adds, "well, that just brings this [song] to life."

"Setting the World on Fire" was written by Ross Copperman, Matt Jenkins and Josh Osborne. Chesney takes the lead on the song's verses, with Pink offering harmonies, and the pop star handles the choruses solo until the end of the song, when they sing one final chorus together.

Just days before his new album was due out on July 8, Chesney announced that he was delaying its release to add "Setting the World on Fire" to the project. The country star and Pink formed a friendship while the “Noise” singer was spending time in California; he calls her “an incredible singer,” describing her voice as one that “holds so many feelings all at the same time: joy, desire, a bit of toughness, a little hurt.”

“To me, great songs are great songs regardless of genre -- and the core of being alive is the same no matter where you are,” Chesney says. “[W]ith her voice that is so strong and contains so many colors, [Pink] really makes that idea of giving into your heart, shouting out the window and whirling around in the middle of an abandoned street feel real."

Cosmic Hallelujah is now due out on Oct. 28. The record was originally titled Some Town Somewhere, but Chesney decided to change its name because "[t]he new music and the energy that the new music’s bringing … feels like a cosmic hallelujah.

"That’s the word that came out,” Chesney explains, “so that’s actually gonna be the title of the new album."